When times are tough, baseball teams will do just about anything to break out of a slump. The Mets were on a four-game losing streak for the first time since September 2021, so they took a page from Major League slugger Pedro Cerrano’s book to wake up their bats.
Between two losses to the San Francisco Giants and another two to the Washington Nationals, the offense looked lifeless. New York scored nine runs during these four losses, including just one in the past two games against Nats pitching. What could help them start firing on all cylinders again? One would think jumbling up the lineup could breathe some life into it, but Mets players took matters into their own hands.
They displayed a large Brandon Nimmo gnome prominently in the dugout to bring them some luck.
There is a Brandon Nimmo gnome keeping watch in the Mets dugout ? pic.twitter.com/aZ4LA5lyC2
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2023
Between that and Joe Budden’s “Pump it Up” blasting through the Citi Field speakers, there’s no way New York wouldn’t score runs on Thursday night, right? The offense finally came alive, and the Mets had a 7-3 lead heading into the eighth inning.
That’s when things got dire. The Nationals revived their chances for a sweep with a five-run frame, capped by a grand slam from shortstop C.J. Abrams. But just when it looked like disaster was about to strike, the power of the NimmGnome took over. A Pete Alonso double tied things up at eight. Jeff McNeil followed that with a go-ahead RBI triple to retake the lead before David Robertson shut the door in the ninth.
Last night could’ve been disastrous. Thankfully, the boys showed some of that resiliency we saw often last season. #Mets #LGM (via SNY) pic.twitter.com/8hk6MgkBSP
— Matt Musico (@mmusico8) April 28, 2023
Clearly, the makeshift shrine in the Mets’ dugout is what woke up the bats. It wasn’t just the Brandon Nimmo gnome, either. They added some flair to make sure displaying this shrine to the world continued to re-ignite the offensive magic:
The Brandon Nimmo gnome (Brandon Gnimmo?) is now a shrine, including:
? A Pete Alonso portrait ?
? A sprinkling of sunflower seeds and gum ?
? A stick
? A banana ?(via @geminikeez) pic.twitter.com/mpOVIQC2Xt
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 28, 2023
I love these guys. While Brett Baty secured the first three-hit night of his MLB career, Eduardo Escobar clearly still contributed to the victory. This obviously reminds me of the Home Run Horse from a couple of years ago. This dugout shrine is way better, though, in my humble opinion.
Similar to the situation that led to Alonso’s mustache probably not coming back at all this year, let’s hope the NimmGnome has a presence in the Mets dugout for a prolonged period of time.
I mean, it worked and they have a huge series this weekend against the Braves. It can’t go anywhere.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
